Pot Legalization Backers Say Prop. 19 Is Winning In Their Own 'Internal Poll'

Supporters of California's pot-legalization effort struck back against a wave of negative news about how Prop. 19 is losing ground -- badly in the latest poll -- among Golden State voters.

The Yes on 19 campaign on Friday released the results of an "internal poll" that shows the initiative winning 56 percent (for) to 41 percent (against). A USC College/Los Angeles Times poll released Friday had almost the opposite, with 19 going down 51 percent to 39 percent among likely voters. What gives?

While traditional polls from the likes of the Public Policy Institute of California and USC College/Los Angeles Times use real-life humans who call random phone numbers in the state, Prop. 19's research comprises "robo calls" where an automated voice asks questions.

The difference here is that cannabis-legalization backers say people are often ashamed to admit their support for Prop. 19 to humans but are happy to press a button for pot when a robot calls.

Dan Newman, a Yes on 19 political strategist:

"As the polling shows, there still seems to be somewhat of a social stigma attached to marijuana and the politics surrounding it. We're confident that when Californians find themselves in the privacy of voting booths on Nov. 2, they will vote to end decades of failed and harmful marijuana policies. Very few people think the current policy is working."

Do you believe it, or are the Prop. 19 folks high on their own supply?